World Spotlight: A Last Stand in France

She rocketed onto the world stage, a charismatic Socialist leader looking to be France's first female President. Now, after her roller-coaster, gaffe-tainted campaign--even leftists criticized her meeting with a bombastic Hizballah lawmaker in Beirut--Ségolène Royal is in the final round of the presidential campaign.

In a first-round vote that drew an 84% turnout, conservative Nicolas Sarkozy won more than 31% of the returns, vs. nearly 26% for Royal, setting up a classic left-right contest for the May 6 runoff. France is enthralled. It's the first matchup of candidates born after World War II, and with high unemployment and immigration boiling issues,...